Excavator.



PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906.

G. W. NIGOLSON.

EXGAVATOR.

lAPPLICATION fvILBD MM2?. 1905.

2 SHBBTS-SHEET 1A No. 822,547. PATENTED JUNE 5, 1906. G. W. NICOLSON.

BXGAVATUR.

APPLICATION VPIL-ED MAYZ?, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" l.lected material may scrapers'disposed thereon.

UNITED STATES PATENT carica GEORGE W. 'NrooLsoNl or MoJAvE, cALlroaNr'A;

lEXCAVATOR.

ISpec'ifcationof Letters Patent.

Eatented June 5, 1906.

'Application led May 2I7, 1905. Serial No. 262,653.

ITo. all whom, it may concern: i f

Be it' known that-I, GEORGE W. NICOL- soN, a citizen of the United States,re siding at Mojave, in the county oi Kern-,and State of California, have lnvented new and useliullmy' provements in Excavators: of .which the following is aspecification. y l This invention relatesfto 'an excavator'of that class adapted to'loosen up, collect, or' remove sediment or deposit'in the bottoms of tanks or to coperate with any-other surface. t

The present excavator operates to loosen and draw the sedimentor deposit toward the center of thev surface treated, and when' employed: overtanks the centrally-disposed colbe released either `through .a bottom discharge or elevated and removed at thctop. A

The apparatus embodying the features of the invention'consists of amovable bridge or support having means'to travel on tracks, to

span tanks or other surfaces, arid supporting the excavating or loosening mechanismthrough the medium of a main vertical shaft, which is readily elevatable and depressible and having the function to ac tuate scraping or dragging devices rectilinearly operating rinwardly and outwardly in alternation and automatically shiftable in limited arcs to change the points of-application of thesev-v eral scraping or dragging devices.

tremities of the slides or frames are obliquelly'- disposed; de'liectors which operate when slides or frames are moving outwardly to shift the latter and the beani or arms carry-- ing the same in curved paths .over'the se i ment or deposit.l rllliisautomatic movement of the slides or frames carrying Ithe "'scrapers o r blades isan irnppr-tant featured-of the excavator vin view cf; mechanism is materially-ire y attention by an oserator-tgarrive-at this result is not require the y.a'ctz that the' duced and close The invention also consists in the details of construction and arrangement of the several forth. j

y ln the drawings, Figure l; is a side elevation lof an excavator embo ying the features oi' the tank also illustrated in section..` Fig. 2is an -end elevation 'of the excavator, partially broken awa and sliowin'g some of, the parts disconnects therefrom. Fig. '3 a trans- Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of portionsof the plurality of arms, showing a modiiication of theparts 'of the mechanism, the niain vertical shaft in this instance being shown in horizon'- tal section.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts of the several features. Thenumeral 1 designates a track-support similarly arranged in duplicate on opposite sides of the surface to be treated or of a tank,

render the' excavating mechanism entirely -Which may be dis osed in alinement. On each support -1 a suitable railv 2 is secured and engaged'by rollers 3 ,held at the opposite ends posed thereon or connections for any other sultable drivlng means for a sectional powerbearings on the bridge and having a bevelpinion 6 at its inner end. Centrally rising from the bridge 4 is a frame?, to the upper portion'of which and' the opposite ends of the bridge 4 braces 8 areattacned to insure stability of the structure as an entiret to prevent movement of the frame or disp acement thereof under strain.` The frame 7 maybe' of any contour and, as shown, is apportio'ntliereof acombined bearing andguid el 9, which vertically alines with a suitable open- `-for a veiticallyrmovabl'e Spett. l'10, formed with 'a longitudinal groove tendin tbrough a verticallyemovable gripchain, or analogous device 12,attache 13a o'n the .top vof the frame and .connected to adrum 13, carried by`and'rotatabletvitha parts, which will 'be more fully hereinafter set.

invention and shownbroken away `or 1n sec.-`

tiori at' different points and as applied over a verse vertical section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1.'

of a bridgey 4 of suitable structure and 'which may in some instances also'have a motor disas shown, and may be of such length as to 8.o convenient for usewith av number of-tanks transmitting shaft v.5, mounted in suitable -A 'proximately triangular and has on theupper l n gain the centmnpoltion of the .bridge 4` e ,ping or clamping devicem hvngacord y cab e thereto and movable over a sheave. or pulley rio cross-,shaft 14', having a worm-Wheel15 there- The cord, cable, or analogous device 12 the drum 13 toy on. is wound on or unwound from elevate or lower the shaft 10.

tion of the shaft without imparting to the Y latter undue strain in view ef the weight of the mechanisinheld on the lower extremity thereof. The shaft 10 is rotatable in the bearing 9, opening 9a, and the grip ing or clamping device 11 and is also slidablet ough a bevel-gear 16, horizontally disposed on the central portion of the bridge at the base of the frame 7, the said gear having a feather or other analo ous device to engage the groove 10b of the s aft 1'0 to insure a positive rotation of the latter. The gear 16 is held in continua'l mesh-with the pinion 6 on the shaft 5, and the speed of rotation of the shaft 10 may be readily controlled by the motive means operating the shaft 5, and at times when it is desired to have the shaft 10 remain inactive the portion of the shaft on which the pinion 6 is directly secured is disengaged from the remaining ortion of the shaft 5 by suitable clutch mec anism A, having an operatinglever B. At any time desired the pinion 6 may be set in motion or its rotation caused to cease by changing the position of the coperating parts of the 'clutch mechanism A, as will be readily understood.

The worm-wheel 15 meshes with a worm- 15a on a worm-shaft 15b, provided with differential orcone pulleys 15c and 15d on its outer extremity and respectively operated from the powertransmitting shaft 5 by l cross-belt a and a straight belt b to impart reverse movement to the said shaft l 5b to raise and lower the shaft 10. The cross-belt a, and straight belt b respectively engage differentia or cone ulleys C and D, normally loose on the shaft 5 and thrown into eng'agement with the latter through the medium of a clutch mechanism E, having an operatinglever F.

The shaft 10 depends below the bridge 4 andv extends through a central yoke 17 and also through the intermediate portion of a beam 18, on which the yoke is supported, the

said beam being composed of two oppositely- 7 disposed channeliron members 20, having l their open sides inwardly disposed and connected at suitable points to reserve the same `in (parallel relation, as indicated by Figs. 2

Thel beam and 'oke arey included'in the. organization withdirect-acting excavating mechanism, the lower `end of the shaft 10 being held by collars 19, arranged above and saam? v below and adjacent to an intermediate cen-l tralconnecting-block or crossiece 18a for the members 2O of the beam to t us attach the latter to the shaft and to each other; but said shaft has free rotation in the block or crosspiece, as well as in the upper or central top portion of the yoke 17. The members 20 of the beam have antifrictional rollers 21 movably fitted thereinand connected to the uplper portions of slides or frames 22, preferably of inverted approximately U-shaped channeliron and located between said members 20. These slides or frames 22 are moved simultaneously inwardly and outwardly over the beam an'd have a series of suitably-shaped posed beveled crank-gears 24, having crank-' A pins 25, one on each, the said pins being simi- 9 5v larly positioned. The crank-gears 24 are held in continual mesh with a bevel-pinion 26, fast on the shaft 10, and by this means a similar s eed of rotation will be imparted to the cran -gears Between the crank-gears connecting-rods 27 are interposed and are atv tached by suitable' strap connections, as in ordinary devices of this class, to the top portions of the slides or frames-22 and also to the crank-pins 25. To the opposite ends of the connecting-block or cross-piece 18 or tothe base of the yoke 17 the inner ends of springs 27a are attached, said lsprings having their outer ends secured to the slides or frames 22, and operate to equalize the strokes of the latter and facilitate the inwardy movement of the same.4 As a reinforcing meansfor the beam 18 adjustable braces 28 are attached thereto and to the Iup er nd top portion of the `yoke 17, and by flic `@se of these braces misshaping of the outer extremities of the beam by thestrain imposed thereon bythe length required is avoided, and at the sainev v time the lower structure or the direct-acting excavating mechanism is preserved in com-A; paratilvely light form.

The outer ends of the frames or slides22 are provided with automatically-operating' deflectors for re larl changing the position of the beaman the lades or scrapershe'ldy1 :f5

by the frame with respect to `the de osit of sediment. These deflectors'coneist o blades 29 and supports 29a, which are disposed atan obliqne yangle reversely tothe position of the I l. blades orscrapers23 and arealso movably 1-30 y blades or Scrapers 23, pivotally attached y thereto and dependingtherefrom, and so pro- IOO izo

` excavate attached, so that when slides or frames varedrawn inwardly the deflectorswill shp over the material to 'be excavated; but on` the back stroke or outward movement of the frame or slides when thev Scrapers or, blades 23- arefloosely moving over the sediment or dewill become rigid and by posit the deflectors theirangular dis osition turn or shift the beam 18 and vthe rames or slides 22, carried thereby., anli-mited arcuate distance to regularly bring the Scrapersv or blades 23 over. a

diHerent art of the deposit 'or' sediment to .be This automatic shifting of the beam 18 andthe frames or slides22 is regularly effected throughout theentire operae tion .of the mechanismv with respect to the .de-

.On the bridge is disposed a shaft 30, ex' tending completelf acrossl the bridge and suitabl supporte and vthereon are xed two pu leys 31 and 32, in alinement with pulleys 33 and 5,'4and the clutch element 35 is s lined to said shaft 'and is movable through t e medium of' the lever 36 to throw either one of the pulleys 33 or 3-4 into operative-relation to said shaft 5.v Between'the pulleys 31 and 33 and engaging the latter is a straight belt 37, and trained over the belts 32 and' 34 is a cross-belt 38 for reversing the movement ofthe shaft 30. On

ythe opposite endsof the said shaft 30 are suiteltfwheels 39, surrounded'b belts, 40, vwhich are also trained over belt-w eels 41 onv the axles ofl a part of the grooved track-A able ` wheels Through the medium' of the shaft 3() with its ulleys and the belt-wheels 39, belt s 40, an belt-wheels 41 the entire excavatmg mechanism maybe moved forwardly I and backwardly on 4the track-rails 2 to any 'oint"desired With respect to the material to ejexcavated or cleared entirely'from one tank-inclosure and arranged in operative relation to another similar inclosure or other. 'surface to be treated. The-belt-Whe'elsBQ' I and removed from the top of the tank. The "blades-or sera ers 23.-;nay be eitherl angular and. 41 and belts 40 ma. be of any preferred form and either of sproc et or c'hain const ction or smooth wheels engaged by band-b lts.4 To hold the frame the excavator steady while the excavating devices are operatingV onthe material or sedimentv to be removed, the ends of the frame have hooks 42 pivoted ladjacent to one side and adjustablehooks 43 adjacent to the opposite side, the'hooks 43 f having intermediate turnbuckles 44, and both hooks 42 'and' 43 are adapted to be caught over studs or projections 45, arranged at 1n. tervals on the trackesupporting structure.

34, on the shaft 5, the latter havving between the said pulleys 33' and ,34aclutch element 35, controlled by a lever 36. The pulleys" 33 and 34 areloose onA the shaft y:The improved mechanism is shown applied toatankf46, havin 'a central opening 47, toward which the LAs e iment or deposit on the bottom of the tam. is regularly drawn and discharged. l

, Intheform of' the mechanism shown by Figs.,1 and 2 the beam 18 comprises two ep- 'positely-extending members orarms, which.

under ordinary operations will be sufficient; i but at timesit may be desirable to use a greater number of arms, and in the modirlca-v tion illustrated by Fig.4 a seriesor` three arms 48are shown and radiating from a common center 49, through which the shaft 10 extends and is provided with a Worm 5D, held in continual mesh with worm-wheels 51, individually-suppogted by the arms 48 and having connectingerods 52 attached thereto. lThe`connecting-rods.52 will be extended out and secured" to the 'frames similarfto-those heretofore described. By increasing. the

number of 'arms and correspondingly' eme ploying the Scrapers or blades 'the Working area of the directly-operating excavating mechanism will, be materially increased. Through the medium of the clutch device or mechanism E, cooperating 'and the pulleys Gland D, which are respectively connected tothe pulle" s-15C and 15d by vcross-belt, al and. straight be t b, the shaft 10 may be raised or lowered through the reverse operation of;` the worm-shafty 15b and the with the shaft 5' worm 1.5, meshing-'with the worm 15' on the s shaft 14'; and 'such elevation and depressionof the shaft 10 'may be effected during the rotation A thereof` by 'suitably vdisposlngA the clutch mechanism A or this elevation and depression of the shaft l() can be pursued -during inactivity of the Scrapers or blades and the mechanism cooperating t erewith by causing the rotation of the sha t 10 to cease, vand which ca'n 4be accomplished by throwing the portion o'f the shaft 5, carryingthe pinion 6 out of operative relationyvith the remainingpart ofsaid shaft.

As will bereadily nnderstood, the op'eration ofthe-excavator is not llimited to 'any nprecise application, and it can be equally well used' on'an o en surface and in some 1nstances Where it 1s used with tanks that do not have centralV discharge-openipgs the sediment collected at the center may be elevated .reaching distance thereof.

loo

IIO

' -,A material advantage vof the 4ini-proved be excavated is Within i thereof an Having thus fully described the invention, what is c aimed as new is`- 'j 1. In an excavating-machine, simultaneously-reciprocating frames rectilinearly o erating inwardly toward and outward y from each other and having a plurality of Scrapers de endin0r from the lower portions on the said means to and from each other,

Scrapers movably depending from thesaid frames, and mechanism for simultaneously operating the frames.

4.'An excavating-machine having simultaneously-reciprocating frames rectilinearly movable inwardly toward and, outwardly from each other and carrying scrapers which are loose in the outward movement of the frameand held rigid when the latter operate inwardly to draw material engaged toward the center of the machine, and mechanism for operating the said frames.

5. An excavator havingrectilinearly-slidi able automatically-rotating frames carrying ldepending Scrapers, and means for elevating and depressing the said frames.

6. In an excavating-machine, a traveling bridge, a vertically-movable shaft held by the said lbridge, and simultaneously-reciprocating frames supported lby the lower ex- I tremity of the shaft and rectilinearly slidable inwardly toward and outwardly from each other and-provided with depending movablyconnected scrapers.

7. In an excavator, the combination ofa yertically-'slidable shaft, a beam connected to 4said shaft, frames longitudinally'slidable on.

the beam and having depending movablyconnected scrapers, and mechanism for rotatin the shaft and operatingthe frames.

8. n an excavator, the combination of a shaft, a beam ca able of rotation on the shaft, frames longitu inally slidable on the beam and having dependin Scrapers movably connectedthereto, and eilectors disposed at an Io bliclue'angle at the outer extremities of the frames to automatically shift the latter and the beam in arcuate paths. v

A9. In an excavator,a support mounted to swin 1n a circle, a plurality of Scrapers longitu inally slidable onl the support, and

movably attached thereto, and

. gears.

an arcuate path on the outward or back strokes of the frames,t he d'eilectors being in positions reverse to the s crapers.

11. In an excavator,the combination of a movable bridge, ashaft vertically adjustable through the bridge, a drum having a' cord or` cable engaging the same and connected to the shaft, a support capable of rotation on the lower extremity of the shaft, frames longitu dinally slidable on the support and having depending movably-connected Scrapers, and mechanism operated by the said shaft for actuating the frames. A

12. In an excavator, the combination of a movable bridge, a shaft depending therefrom and vertically slidable therein, abeam rotatably supported on the lower extremity of the shaft and having a yoke extending upwardly therefrom, crank-gears held by the yoke, a pinion on the shaft engaging the crank-gears, frames longitudinal y slidable on the beam and movably-connecte( Scrapers, and connecting means between the frames andthe crank- 1 13. In an excavator, the combination of traveling and vertically-movable su porting means, frames having antifrictiona devices slidably engaging thesupporting means, .the said frames having longitudinal reciprocation inwardly and outward y in reverse directions on the supportin means, scrapers movably depending from t e frames and operatlng to draw the material engaged inwardly toward theI center of the machine, and mechanism for actuatingthe said means and frames,

14.. In an-excavating-machine, the combination of a traveling bridge, a vertically-slidable shaft dependin from said bridge and extending upwardly t rough the latter, a hori- Zontally-dis osed driving-shaft for operating the vertical y-slidable shaft, means etween rovided with `depending the drivin -shaft,and vertically-slidable shaft r for/contro ling the vertical adjustment of the latter shaft, mechanism for disconnectingthe vertically-slidable shaft from the drivingshaft, and 'simultaneously reciprocating reversely-moving frames supported on the lower extremity of the slidable shaft'below the bridge andhaving Scrapers movably de-I depending therefrom.

15. In an excavatin -machine, the combination of a traveling ridge having wheels connected thereto,A track devlces with whlch the said wheels engage, a motion-transmitting shaft carried by the bridge, a driving-shaft on 1 oWer extremity of the vertically-adjustable the bridge7 devices carried by the driving shaft and provlded With depending movable shaft, motion-transmitting shaft `and e part lsbrepers. v

. of the Wheels of the bridge for-shifting the en- In testmlonywhereof I have hereunto s et 5 tire zroparatus-on the track devices in o po my hand in presence of two subscribing Wlt- 15 site ectons, a vertically-adjustables aft messes.' held by end depending below the bridge and A GEORGE W. NCOLSON. in separable eo'peration With respect to the Witnesses:

drving'asheft, and simultaneously-recipro- SAML. KREFIMEL,

to eating reversely-operating frames held on the J. M. BAKER. 

